Fix Me

So it Goes

Josh's POV

I lead Sarah through the 604 records building, touring her for her first day.

"Aren't there people for this?" She asks, referring to me showing her around.

"Yeah. I just though--" that you'd like me to is what I was going to say. But she cuts me off before I can.

"Just don't. I want nothing to do with more famous people." She looks upset. I pull her into a side room, where there aren't any people who can overhear.

"What's happened to you?" I ask her, sitting her in a chair and kneeling before her. "Why are you so afraid of meeting people who are famous?"

"Well - I don't know how to explain it. Do you know who Brendon Urie is?" She asks. I vaguely know of him. He's the lead singer of a band, Panic! At the Disco, I think it's called.

"Yeah. He's a famous singer." I acknowledge. She frowns.

"They were my favorite band until last year. Do you know where he is now?" She's trying to tell me something, but I can't tell what it is.

"No. Wait, if you knew him . . . did he . . . oh god." I understand now. He must have assaulted her.

"But it wasn't like that." Sarah cries. "He and I were friends, then he asked me to be his girlfriend, but nothing happened between us. My mom called the cops, though, because he's nine years older than I am."

"That bitch." I mutter, not sure what else to say. I hope that's comforting, I'm not very good at this sort of thing. "Did you love him?"

Sarah only nods and cries into my shoulder. I hug her to me and then get a weird feeling. How old is she? If it was illegal then, was she not yet 18? Is she now? I could get in trouble.

"How old are you?" I look at her with sympathy, but I don't want to be the next one caught in the misfortune.

"Seventeen. I'll be eighteen in October." She sniffles. Well, there go my chances with her. Not that I really had any before.

"You're safe here, with me. Stay as long as you'd like." I whisper into her ear as I hug her again. It feels like I'm soothing a small child, like she isn't only 10 years younger than I am.

"OK. Let's keep going." She wipes her eyes and stands up. I follow, not realizing that I have been crying too. I show her out of the small office and down the hall.

"This," I smile, opening a door on the left of the hallway. "Is the recording studio of my band, Marianas Trench." We walk in and Sarah gives a small gasp. "I know it smells bad, that accounts for Matt and Ian . . . " and possibly me sometimes. We would air it out, but there aren't any Windows.

"But it's great! Wait, so all of the guys in your apartment are in the band?" She asks. Well they don't live in my apartment, but it's true. We're all famous, if she can handle the stresses.
"They don't live there, but yup. You're cool to look around or whatever. We're not doing shit today." I casually wave my hand and flop on the couch in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, Sarah disappears into a door that leads to the kitchen. Figures she'd find it first.

"Ow! Fuck!" I hear a few minutes later. I run at high speed into the kitchen and find Sarah clutching her foot.

"Did you stub your toe on the edge of the island?" I ask, coming closer. "I do that all the time, we should get this place fucking child proofed . . ." I chuckle and sit on the floor by Sarah's foot. "Oh no!" I gasp, removing her shoe.

"What? What is it?" Sarah sounds so concerned. I look at her with a very serious look.

"I think we're going to have to amputate it. Get a knife!" We burst out laughing and I look at her toes. "Nah. Everything looks fine." I notice that when I'm examining her foot, she's squirming. "Oh. You're ticklish?" I say, tickling her foot more.

"Jo-osh, sto-op!" Sarah giggles. I continue and she squeals.

"What the hell?" Matt walks into the kitchen. The picture must be awkward, Sarah sitting on the counter, me on the floor and her rolling around hysterically.

"Oh hey Matt. Sup?" Sarah smiles and swats my hand away with her foot. I stand up and hop onto the counter beside her.

"I could ask you the same question." Matt muses. He raises an eyebrow at me and walks away. Guess he thinks that Sarah and I are a thing, which we aren't, but so it goes.